


How Are We Gonna Tell The World?

by andthedreamgoesreducto



Series: The World Falls In Love With Two Super Soldiers [2]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Coming Out, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Social Media, The Daily Show - Freeform, because i'm an idiot who can't stop herself, but it's mostly good, some negative reactions to coming out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-06
Updated: 2016-03-06
Packaged: 2018-05-25 02:46:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6177112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andthedreamgoesreducto/pseuds/andthedreamgoesreducto
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the time was right, they could do it together. Pepper would have helped draft a speech for them to say, organise a press conference and that’s how everyone would have found out that they were together.<br/>The way the world actually finds out about Steve and Bucky is nowhere near as simple as this. The internet has an actual meltdown and instead, they have to face one of the biggest media storms in years.<br/>This is the story of how the world finds out about two super soldiers being in love.<br/>Featuring twitter, deep conversations and some journalists going insane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How Are We Gonna Tell The World?

**Author's Note:**

> Part Two has arrived!  
> This story is dedicated to one of my best friends. You inspired this and me so much and I know it's a bit late, but here's another birthday surprise!  
> So to you all, enjoy!

‘You ever considered telling the world about you and me?’ Bucky asked him one day. There is a hint of nervousness to his voice, but the smirk on his face lets him know that Bucky thinks the idea would end up being hilarious.

‘I guess’ Steve shrugged, ‘We’ll tell them when we tell them. They don’t need to know, so what’s it matter right? But when we want to, we’ll do it together’

And that would have been simple enough. When the time was right, they could do it together. Pepper would have helped draft a speech for them to say, organise a press conference and that’s how everyone would have found out that they were _together_.

That is not how the world finds out about them.

The thing is, this is the 21st century, where everyone has a camera on their phone, and almost definitely have a social media account they could use to upload a photo of them both kissing and quickly spread all over the internet.

This is how the world finds out about Steve and Bucky.

**\-----SxB-----**

_**IS CAPTAIN AMERICA DATING THE WINTER SOLDIER???  
** By Jia Chén_

_So the guessing game of who caught Captain America’s eye, has been long and tedious, with so many names thrown around, we’re probably looking at over 100 different suggestions. But probably the longest running candidate, and one that’s kept not just fangirls, but actual historians, arguing for years and years is none other than James "Bucky" Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier._

_And by the looks of the photo currently **destroying** the internet, it’s seems like they were right all along._

_Roughly, 8 hours, 47 minutes and 8 seconds ago (okay so maybe not so roughly), a photo of Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes *supposedly* kissing surfaced (supposedly my ass, they clearly had their tongues down each other’s throats) on twitter, though some have argued back saying it is *obviously* a fake edit (no, seriously, look at it, I’m gonna put the tweet below this, look at it and tell me that they aren’t snogging their faces off. Go on, tell me. I dare you. NO, YOU CAN’T CAN YOU?! HA!)_

**Courtney Brixton @Courtney95Ohio  
** OMG! THAT’S CAP AND BUCKY! THAT’S CAP AND BUCKY SNOGGING! I’VE SEEN CAP AND BUCKY KISSING pic.twitter.com/Df95xCa

_That’s right. **Look at it**. Of course the internet went absolutely berserk and has been having a meltdown ever since. (I’m sure you can imagine Tumblr right now, the fangirls are crying so much they could fill the Potomac)_

**Senja Sultan @blueroo  
** If this is a dream, I’m gonna be pissed. #CapandBuck #bestdayever

 **Jake Hart @badteapot  
** Surprising that two people who look at each other like they’d die for each other may actually be more than just friends #didyoureallynotseeit

 **Avengers Watch @NYavengerswatch6  
** Could Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes be dating? Check out a timeline of their friendship! ave.wa/KjitP79x #CapandBuck

 **Francesca Miller @stuckysince1920s  
** CALLED IT, CALLED IT, CALLED IT, LOOOOOVVVVEEEEEE ITTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!! #CapandBuck

_There hasn’t been any official word from Captain America, the Winter Soldier or any other Avenger yet, but hey, it’s only a matter of time right? So for now, the world will keep on spinning without the knowledge of whether we have a new-power couple. How long this will last? It’s hard to say. But if this mass-amazement continues (and it will, I mean, come on, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND WINTER SOLDIER KISSING), then the demands for answers will just get louder._

_So let shipping commence!_

**\-----SxB-----**

‘I could have had that photo off the internet without a trace within a minute of it going up, why didn’t you let me?’

Tony’s question, whilst valid, was really starting to get on Steve’s nerves. By the sighs that echoed through the Tower’s common room, everyone else was in a similar state of mind.

Because sure, this wasn’t exactly how this was meant to happen, and he was absolutely terrified of what this would mean for him and Bucky, but taking it down felt wrong in some way. Some part of his brain screamed against it, as if taking it down made out he was somehow ashamed of it. He didn’t like the thought of the whole world being able to see him and Bucky when they thought no one would see them kissing, but he liked the thought of Bucky believing he was embarrassed of their relationship even less.

‘It would have found its way back on there’ Steve feebly defended his actions.

Tony would have almost looked hurt if it weren’t for the mocking tone in his voice, ‘Do you doubt my ability to hack the internet?’

Steve rolled his eyes and started to retort when Pepper came walking in, her expression serious, though completely lacking any panic that Steve thought anybody else would be drowning in if they had sort this shit show out.

‘Okay, so we have a few options but they are limited.’ Pepper starts explaining immediately, ‘Firstly, we could release a statement that asks for privacy, but that seems like a pointless request. Or we could record your message and put it online, which might be better received seeing as it comes direct from you, and we can still rehearse it and fine tune it to exactly what we want to say’

‘And that’s what exactly?’ Wanda interrupts. Everyone’s attention is drawn to Steve, the question obvious and hanging in the air- _‘do you want them to know?’_.

That was the question. Did he? Did _they_? This was bigger than just him, he wasn’t the only one involved in this. If he told the world that Captain America wasn’t the man the media had portrayed him to be over the years, wasn’t the typical "All-American, family man", then the questions would never stop. He would be put under a microscope for all the world to look at and pull apart piece by piece. Everything he had ever done would be re-analysed just because of one detail, one part of him.

And yes, it was a part of himself that he was proud of; he would never let anybody make him feel like nothing because of something so fundamental as who he loved. He could stand and let the people criticise him because he had nothing to ashamed of and they were simply too ignorant to understand that he was happy with who he was.

But doing that he put _Bucky_ under the exact same spotlight. The world had examined him over and over again since he’d come back, and Steve didn’t know if he could ask him to go through that all over again. To let the world see something they had held dear and held close to their chests their whole lives.

‘You don’t have to tell them anything you don’t want to’ Pepper insisted calmly when he showed no sign of answering. ‘Neither of you do’

‘They couldn’t get us to say anything we didn’t wanna no matter how hard they tried’ Bucky called as he walked through the door behind Steve. He turned around to see that Bucky had gotten dressed as he had said he was going to do when Steve had reluctantly left him in their floor of the Tower to come to the meeting. He hadn’t been sure whether Bucky was actually going to turn up or not, seeing as the television coverage of the photo was being played on loop in the common room.

But here he was, making his way to stand by Steve’s side and reaching down to grab his hand.

‘But at this point, we have to say something’ Pepper apologetically pointed out, ‘the world has been obsessing over that photo for the past 9 hours, it’s not going to go anyway. Saying nothing isn’t an option anymore because they would just hound you and come up with all manner of schemes to find an answer. We have to do something’

Bucky’s grip on Steve’s hand grew tighter for a moment before relaxing slightly. ‘How long do we have?’ Bucky asked. ‘To decide what to do, how long?’

Pepper bit her lip in consideration ‘An hour?’ she guessed with a small shrug, ‘Maybe two? But there are photographers, journalists, and everyday people at the door of the Tower demanding an answer.’

‘They want more than that’ Natasha muttered, ‘they want the whole story. They _want_ every single detail we can give them.’

‘Well they’re not getting that’ Clint cut across. ‘The majority of the response has been positive. They just want to know what that photo means.’

‘Why do they have to know anything at all?’ Wanda argued back. ‘We have our own lives. Just because we got out as a team, does _not_ mean they have any right to know what goes on in _our private lives’_

‘It’s the publicity game’ Tony shrugged, ‘We tell them what they want to know, and they feel like they know us, they _like_ us, making our job a whole lot easier.’

‘Why should it matter if they like us?!’ Wanda stood up. ‘We look after them, we _protect_ them. What difference does it make whether they know our favourite colour is, or what we like to do when we’re not being Avengers? They don’t _need_ to know any of that!’

‘If we don’t have them on our side then we’re open to interference from everything else.’ Tony insisted, ‘We do one thing wrong and the press will have a field day, and before you know it the world doesn’t want the Avengers to protect it anymore.’

‘That’s ridiculous!’ Wanda shouted back. The room descended into chaos and argument, with everyone throwing in their own opinion on the matter, and slowly the room resembled every other meeting the Avengers had had together- an absolute mess.

‘That’s enough!’ Steve called out, using the voice that Sam had dubbed, "Captain America is done with your shit". ‘One hour’ he directed towards Pepper, ‘then we’ll give you our decision, okay?’ He squeezed Bucky’s hand, eased slightly when he returned the gesture. ‘One hour, on our own.’

Slowly, the rest of the Avengers left the room, each of them looking over to Steve and Bucky and smiling encouragingly, or nodding in a show of support, or, in Tony’s case, obnoxiously giving them two thumbs up and mouthing that he loved them.

Sam came over to them, the last Avenger in the room, putting one hand on Steve’s shoulder, and the other on Bucky’s ‘You do what you have to do’ Sam told them, ‘Don’t think about anyone else. This is about you two, whatever you do it has to be for you, not for anybody else. No matter what that is, we’ll all be here to help you.’ He gave them one last comforting smile, and left the room like the others.

All that was left in the common room was the noise from the television and the white noise of the streets below, that were usually too far away to hear, but with the window open and the mass of people gathered on the street below, you could make out a bit of the shouting and cameras going off.

‘So then’ Bucky started to speak, his gaze locked on the TV as he grabbed the remote to turn it off, ‘one hour’

**\-----SxB-----**

**Scott Jackson @fastjackson47  
** Does anyone have any actual idea what’s going on with this whole #CapandBuck thing? Friends? Teammates? Butt buddies? What?

 **Beth Kaye @beth-19-kaye  
** Does nobody remember that the Winter Soldier was a HYDRA assassin? #heisguilty

 **love from Brooklyn @brooklyngirl89  
** #CapandBuck deserve all the love and support in the world. #PRIDE

 **Jim Donald @jim_donald1  
** It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve #disgusted #CapandBuck

 **Emma Page @asfreeasiwannabe  
** @jim_donald1 you’re right it’s not Adam and Steve, it’s Steve and Bucky #weloveCapandBuck

**\-----SxB-----**

‘Do you want to tell them it was a mistake?’ Bucky started the conversation when they got back to their flat.

‘No!’ Steve quickly denied. ‘Do you?!’

‘No.’ Bucky shook his head, ‘Well that’s that option ruled out’

‘Why would I want that?’ Steve demanded.

Bucky shrugged, ‘I don’t know. It would have been one way to get out of it. There’s only so many questions people could ask if we just told them that it meant nothing’

‘But it doesn’t mean nothing’ Steve insisted, grabbing both of Bucky’s hands and holding them close to his chest. ‘You don’t mean nothing to me’

‘I know that’ Bucky chuckled, twisting his hands so he was the one holding Steve’s hands and brought them up to his lips, giving them a quick kiss. ‘But if you weren’t ready for the world to know, then it was a way to not have to tell them’

‘Do you not want to tell them?’ Steve asked.

Bucky bit his lip in consideration, ‘I think, I’m tired of not being able to hold your hand when we’re walking down the streets. I’m tired of sitting in the darkest corners of a restaurant _all the time_ , because yes it’s nice sometimes, but other times I want to look out the window and see the view. I’m tired of having to look around everywhere we go in case some sees us, even when _we’re in the Tower for fuck’s sake’_ he laughed, before growing quiet and shrugging again ‘And if the solution to all of that is to tell the world, then I’m okay with it.’

‘Why haven’t you said any of that before?’ Steve’s eyebrows scrunched together as he questioned Bucky.

‘I was scared’ Bucky admitted quietly, ‘I didn’t know if that’s what you wanted, or if it was even possible. I know I should have said, but I just…it’s hard to adjust to how everyone acts about it today’

Steve understood that completely. It was startling at first, to go from a society that shunned and punished anyone different, anyone that didn’t fit in, to a society that was filled of people who actively and openly fought for the acceptance of those previously shunned. Even if they were still people who Steve knew would fit right in with social attitudes of the Forties, there was a growing community who encouraged individuality and disagreed with the repression of identity and sexuality.

The adjustment was a big one to make, but Steve could still see the inequalities that remained from the past.

‘I want those things too’ Steve assured him, nodding emphatically, before stopping and hesitating, ‘but I…I don’t want it to change anything…I don’t want _you and me_ to change because people know. And I don’t want to tell them everything about us either, but people are always going to ask questions, and if we don’t answer then they’ll just make guesses and be cruel. I don’t know how to do what we _want_ to do without doing some of the things we _don’t_.’

Bucky tipped his head to the side as his hands twisted and turned around with Steve’s, before settling with them interlocked tightly. ‘I don’t know if you’ve noticed’ Bucky started with a smirk, ‘but you and me are pretty stubborn. We’ve not let anything else change us, and we’ve been through some tough shit’ he laughed, his eyes sparkling with mischief. ‘I’m not _ever_ gonna let that happen and I know you’re not either. So you don’t have to go worrying about that.

‘And when it comes to what we do and what we don’t tell them, well I don’t care what they say. They can guess and pry and be as cruel as they want. _I_ know who I am, I know who _you are_ , and I know who _we are._ ’ Bucky untangled his hand, and moved it to the back of Steve’s head, pulling it down so he could press their foreheads together. ‘And so do you. Nobody else matters. Nobody else’s opinion of us matters. I don’t care what they think of us, because _we know the truth._ ’

‘They say something bad about you, and Natasha’s gonna have to pull me away from punching a photographer again’ Steve warned him.

Bucky snorted in response, ‘Not the best image for Captain America, Stevie’

‘Yeah will, turns out Steve Rogers isn’t exactly who America thinks he is’ he joked back, before smiling sweetly ‘but it looks like they’re gonna have to deal with that’

Bucky slowly pulled away, looking straight at Steve. ‘So?’ he checked. ‘We’re gonna do this?’

‘Looks like it’ Steve nodded back.

‘The whole world will know’ Bucky told him.

‘Yep’ Steve checked.

‘And it won’t change a thing’

‘You and me have been too stubborn from the start’ Steve chuckled, echoing Bucky’s earlier speech to him.

‘Tell me Stevie, how are we gonna tell the world?’ Bucky asked him. 'Any ideas?'

A mischievous glint lit up his eyes and a smirk took over his face. ‘I’ve got one or two’

**\-----SxB-----**

By the time Pepper had organised the whole thing, another four hours had passed, but even that, and Steve’s determination to do it didn’t quell the nerves in his stomach.

He _really_ hated press conferences (even if this one was his idea).

You’d think he’d be used to it as assigned "leader" of the Avengers. But no, the mass of people and bright flashes were nearly too overwhelming, especially as the questions ranged from _‘How does it feel to know that yet **another** Avengers mission ended with "collateral damage"?’ _ to _‘Are you a boxers or a briefs man, Captain Rogers?’_.

God he hated them.

But at least he didn’t have to face them alone.

When he and Bucky had told the others of their ideas to announce their relationship, and subsequently their sexuality, in a press conference, they had immediately said they’d join him.

‘You guys don’t have to do that’ he quickly assured them.

‘We know’ Tony was, unsurprisingly, the first to answer him. ‘Doesn’t mean you have to do it alone’ he had, _very surprisingly_ , said sincerely.

So that’s how, when Steve stood behind the podium on the stage in the Avengers’ Tower’s press room, Bucky stood just behind him on his left, and the rest of the Avengers stood in a line behind him.

The moment they’d appeared, the room erupted into questions and flashing lights. Pepper quickly stepped forward, raising her hand and holding the room under her attention. Some voices continued to call out for answers, but she ignored them and carried on professionally.

‘As I told you before, the appointed journalists may ask their _approved_ questions’ she told them. ‘So first, we’ll have Brian Stephenson from The New York Times’

A relatively young man stood up from the middle of the room, ‘Captain Rogers’ he nodded ‘What was your initial response to the release of the photograph, that appears to be you and Sergeant Barnes caught in an intimate embrace?’

Steve took a steadying breath, and directed his answer straight to the journalist. ‘I was surprised, I hadn’t expected an image like that of me to ever appear on the internet.’ Which was true, but with a lot more freaking out and swearing.

 _Concise, honest, nothing more than what you want to give._ Pepper’s mantra repeated in his head, as he saw the man try to ask another question, but was quickly denied when Pepper called upon the journalist from USA Today.

This time, an older gentleman stood up, his gaze fierce and determined. Steve took another steadying breath on impulse.

‘Captain Rogers, what do you have to say about the rumours circulating about you and Sergeant being in a relationship?’

‘Mr Smith, that was not an approved question’ Pepper tersely fired back.

But Steve shook his head slowly, before resolutely standing straighter. ‘No, no, it’s fine’ he told Pepper with a confident smile.

‘Admittedly Mr Smith I was anxious over these rumours. I hadn’t realised how scared I was until I had to face the reality. But none of that was because I was ashamed or angry at myself, it was because I didn’t know if I was ready to let other people know a truth that I had known since I was twelve years old.’ He looked over his shoulder to see Bucky staring straight back, a proud smile lighting up his face. He turned back to the journalist. ‘But after some time, and thanks to the mass of support shown by so many, I knew that it was time’

Mr Smith looked slightly dazed for a moment, but then smiled happily at the answer.

The room dissolved into chaos, as every journalist shouted out their questions, but Pepper gained control of the room again. ‘We’ll take the final question from Trevor Noah, from the Daily Show’

The man Steve recognised from television stood up. He’d watched the Daily Show at Clint’s recommendation, and was slightly socked that the main presenter had appeared.

‘Captain Rogers, thank you for your time’ he nodded. ‘My question relates to the public reaction of the suspected relationship between you and Sergeant Barnes. What do you think it shows about today’s society?’

 _Oh wow_ , he could practically see Pepper smirking out of the corner of his eye.

‘I think the majority of the response was incredibly positive. I saw so many supportive messages and encouraging messages. But of course there was some negative, which I knew would happen.’ Steve considered his answer before continuing. ‘But I was surprised, when I saw how shocked people were by the fact that Captain America could be anything other than heterosexual. I mean, I remember when even if you attempted to something remotely resembling the LGBT community would have been thrown in jail. And yet, the internet went completely mental.’

‘Surely you understand how surprised people were because both of you’ Trevor Noah nodded at both Steve and Bucky, ‘were raised in such an aggressive environment to anything other than heterosexuality. You being seen to do something that goes _completely against that_ , was surprising to most. But that wasn’t the main reason. Even today, it’s hard for people to come out’

Steve noticed that the flashing lights increased when the host had finished his point but Steve immediately answered ‘The fact that two guys were kissing shouldn’t be shocking. I’ve seen two men, or two women, kissing in public or in the media. Two guys being caught kissing on camera isn’t brand new. It shouldn’t be ground-breaking, or monumental, or shocking in the slightest. Two guys kissing, two girls kissing, should be just as normal as a guy and a girl.’

Parts of the room started to applaud, but Steve stopped them quickly. ‘No don’t do that!’ he hushed them. ‘You shouldn’t be applauding a comment that’s simply pointing out that we’re all equal. Something as fundamental as equality shouldn’t be rare! None of this should be unusual’ he said passionately, stopping to take a deep breath. ‘The fact that I’m bisexual shouldn’t be this unusual. The fact that I’m in a relationship with Bucky shouldn’t be either’

He noticed the immediate eruption of cameras flashing and the shouting increasing tenfold. He saw Pepper telling them that was all their questions. He felt her, and who he was pretty sure was Clint, try to usher him of the stage.

But none of that compared to Bucky’s grip on his hand, steady and true, and in public for the first time in the near century they’d known each other. He saw Bucky’s tear-filled eyes, and dazzling smile, and he couldn’t help but give one straight back, for the whole world to see.

**\-----SxB-----**

‘So? How you feeling about the whole world knowing that you and me bang?’ Bucky asked him that night, as they lay in bed. His smirk told Steve that he had, as suspected, found the whole thing hilarious.

‘You know what? It hasn’t really changed anything at all’ Steve replied with a shrug, a small smug smile. ‘Suppose you and me are just too stubborn huh?’

‘You could say that. Wise words.’ Bucky laughed in reply. ‘You fancy doing anything tomorrow?’

‘Well, I’ve heard that walking down the streets and sitting by the window in restaurant can be quite fun’ he nudged Bucky’s side, making him chuckle and lean further into him.

‘Sounds like a plan then’ Bucky turned to look at Steve, only to find him staring straight back. They soon dissolved into giggles, just as they had when they were kids.

**\-----SxB-----**

The following day another photo appeared online, though this time it was willingly and knowingly taken and uploaded.

It was a selfie, just a simple photo of Steve and Bucky, in the corner by the window of their favourite coffee shop in Brooklyn. Both were laughing, they’re faces slightly turned towards each other, and not directly looking at the camera. They were surrounded by the shining light pouring in through the window.

 **Steve Rogers @therealsteverogers  
** What a beautiful day and a beautiful view #Stuckyisreal

 

**Author's Note:**

> It turns out I can't help myself when it comes to social justice, but neither can Steve so it's all good.  
> There will be another part, and I'm trying to get finished and posted as soon as possible!  
> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! Please like, review or bookmark! x


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